Faithful Reader, I live at the beach and I love it. Bub and I comment and agree on a weekly basis that our decision to move here was the best decision for us! We love it. Living at the beach may not be for everybody but, it is for us. We love living by the water.
When we moved down here we didn’t realize that living down here would come with another added benefit- that all our friends would want to come visit us and the rest would be down for family vacay and be able to pencil us in for a bite to eat or a boat drink. But, lo and behold! It is such a perk!
I think this summer has set a record for visits. We have seen lots of friends this summer. It began in May with a visit from Stephanie Webster Kirkpatrick and her 2 little ones, the Boss and her Big Sister. These little girls are so adorable. Each, in their own way, are Stephie made over and it is just so much fun interact with them and see their personalities.
It continuted in May with our visit from Lauren Peters Vaughn. She and her family came down for a visit to the beach. It was with Lauren and her family that I realized that some of the restaurants I used to avoid like the plague aren’t that bad especially when you have 3 kids 3 years old or younger in tow. Lauren is my best friend’s little sister. In many ways, I feel like Lauren is my little sister too.
And I have to say, that there were several friends down in May, June and July that for whatever reason we weren’t able to connect. But, I know they will be back next summer and we will have to try harder.
June brought to town Amber Johnson and her family. I have known Amber and her husband Daniel for close to a decade. They are some of the kindest folks around. They have such gentle souls. It is fun to see them as parents, I know their boys will have very fond memories of their childhood and be able to look back and know their parents were/are cool.
We have some dear friends from Birmingham who make appearances down here regularly through the summer- we are always super excited when they call to tell us they are coming to town!
Baby Bub is in the pool with Marcial and Laura Mendez’s Little Priss. That little girl is just precious and adorable and really the embodiment of a little firecracker. I am glad I get the privilege of watching her grow up! And speaking of growing up, the girls on the right, Cutie One and Two are getting so grown. They are are Clinton Shaffer’s daughters and are so smart and so beautiful. It just so happens that Cutie One is Bub’s God Daughter. (Bub, Clinton and Marcial have been friends since before ‘Nam.)
Now, that was just in May and June! And my longtime best friend Elizabeth Woodall Shannon and her cute prego self brought her cutie patootie little boy down to see us. We enjoyed a couple hours at the outlet mall and a dinner out. Plus, Bub and I had lunch with a childhood friend of mine, Rebekah Ard Gregson and her whole family and I mean, Aunts, Uncles, Momas, Daddys, Brothers, Cousins, Nieces and Nephews- whole family! I just wasn’t quick on my toes with the camera with either of these old friends but, I enjoyed our visits.
And then came July.
The first week, Bub and I hosted a reunion of some of my dearest friends. The group of us met in Jackson, MS and our friendship was fast-forming. It was so much fun to have a house full of people that allow me to be myself- no more and no less. We just had a week of relaxation, sun (and rain) and a dash of debauchery here and there. Topher Payne was the first spouse to marry into our posse as he describes us. His very eloquent version of our week can be found here. The posse representing Jack-town is in the top photo from L-R: Michelle Hall, TJ Nixon-Payne, Pattie Dotson, myself and Lori Leech.
The subsequent photos dipict us going about our week and include our spouses (Bub and Topher) and fiances (Justin Cook and I’m mentioning John Wetzel even though he wasn’t in attendance because I love him and want to send him a shout out.) I missed these folks before they even left and am anxiously waiting for our week next summer!
The following week, my Daddy aka Big Daddy, my stepmother aka Grand Snug, my sister and quarter sister came down for family vacay.
We had a good week. They stayed at a condo but, we managed to have several good days together making good memories. We played at the pool at their condo, took a boat ride and managed to squeeze in a burger at Pirate’s Cove.
My best friend Bridgette Peters was next on our list of visitors. She came down from Tupelo, Mississippi and spent the week. We had a relaxing week by the pool, on the beach and on the boat. We also managed to hit up the outlet mall and catch Rolling in the Hay at the Flora-Bama Yacht Club. I think we would both agree that it was a very successful week!
Here she is with Baby Bub and the photo on the right has a little story behind it. We were trying to have a photo shoot with Bub as our photographer. He’d take a picture and we’d look at it but we weren’t satisfied with any of them because we thought we needed some work. Well, Bridgette was taking matters into her own hands- she squeezed my neck to give me a tighten up- I wasn’t expecting it, it totally threw me off guard- it was hilarious! The things you do for your friends!
And this brings us to this week. A dear friend came to visit for a few days. I have known Courtney Hindman my whole life. Our parents were friends before we were born. We have basically been on the beach, eating good food and taking it easy. It’s been nice, low-key and relaxing. Also down this week is another dear friend that I have known as long as I can remember. Laura Colquett Graham and her little family are super fun. They just welcomed a new addition about 5 weeks ago who I am sure will give her big brother and her parents a run for their money! I am looking forward to seeing their annual family portraits taken on the beach.
The summer is not over! I have another friend en route right now! I am excited to see Chris Flohr if only for a second. And the last week of August will bring to town two different sets of friends that Bub and I are both anxious to see. Jon and Maggie Chesser, their kiddies and Maggie’s Daddy, Dr. Joe Jordan will be down for a week! Jon and Maggie moved to Canada 2 days after Baby Bub was born and as such haven’t met him yet. I can’t wait to spend a few days with them. AND! Courtney Barnett Taylor who did a guest post for us examining her favorite beauty products and her husband, Trent and their new cherub will down that week as well! Again, I am anxious to hang out with them too! Not only did Courtney and I go to pre-school together, our Daddy’s went to pre-school together too! And I’ve always loved Trent. I am sooooo looking forward to the last week in August!
What have you been up to this summer? Have you had any house guests or visitors to your town? Tell us about it!
Woot!! Cant wait to see yall!!